Yarn anchor for knitting machines



p 1929- I. ROTTENBERG 1,727,905

YARN ANCHOR FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed April 26, 1928 INVENTOR vvm Bombay,

ATTORNEY Sept. ltl l9fd9.

muses IRWIN ROTTENBERG, OF NEW' YURK, N. Y.

YARN ANCHOR FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

Application filed April 26, 1928.

My present invention relates generally to knitting machines, and has particular reference to a yarn anchor for use with knitting machines which are constructed and arranged for knitting striped fabrics.

Before describingmy invention in detail, I will. premise that in the knitting; of triped fabrics wherein the stripes are transvt to the fabric, one or more sets of thread guides are provided in association with means for automatically rendering a predetermined one of each set operative at predeteri'i'iined times and the others of said set inoperative For the purpose of explaining the nature of my present invention, l have herein illustrated and I shall hereinafter refer to a knitting machine wherein a single set of such thread guides is provided. Furthermore, I have, for purposes of simplification, described and shall. hereinafter refer to said set of thread guides as comprising only two individual thread guides, one thereof being; adapted to feed a thread of one color, and the other thereof being adapted to feed a thread of another color.

My invention has particular reference to a knitting machine of the rotating type, i. e., one wherein a set of needles are arranged along a closed arcuate path, and wherein one or the other of said thread. guides made to move along; said path and in operative relationshin to said needles, thereby incorporating the particular thread guided thereby spirally into tl e fabric lein s knitted. The

latter comprises a tubular construction constantly growing in length as one or the other thread is laid and knitted spirally 1n association with one edge of said tubular structure Serial No. 272,870.

thereupon cut the same at a point closely ad jacent to the point at which said thread commences to float. In the absence of any yarn anchor whatsoever, it will be understood that the floating thread will form useless loop extending from the point at which the thread commences to float to the point at whi chit is again led into association with the knitted fabric. Such loop will be large or small, de pending upon the length of time that the other or operative thread is being knitted into the fabric. here a number of sets of thread guides are employed, usually four, and where each set comprises say four, instead oi: two, thread guides, the number of loops which would thus be formed are considerable, and since they vary in lengths and aretotally useless so far as the fabric is concerned, they constitute a source of great annoyance, endangering the smooth continuation of the knitting, and necessitating in any event a subsequent manual cutting operation Which consumes considerable time and labor.

Une of the main objects of my invention is to provide a yarn anchor having the features outlined above and being constructed in such a simple manner as to be extremely inexpensive froma manufacturing standpoint and at the same time highly eificient in operation.

In a machine of the character outlined above, the thread guides are caused to move along the closed path mentioned by a rotating supporting structure mounted upon a rotating shaft. Said shaft is obviously substantially concentric with the tubular fabric being knitted, and the end of said shaft customarily terminates at a point slightly in advance of the edge of the fabric in course of manufacture.

Onefeature of my invention lies in providing a yarn anchor which is provided with means for simplypyet eiliciently attaching it to the end of said shaft, said anchor including: a metallic collar or the like adapted to be engageable over said end and provided with simple means such as a set screw for attaching: it to said shaft.

Another feature of my invention lies in providing a yarn anchor which includes a yarnengaging hub of extremely simple con yarn which winds itself around the fingers from slipping off of the latter. In this way, the yarn is promptly tensioned in anticipation of the cutting action of the knives or cutters. I

Pursuant to my object relating to simplicity of construction and manufacture, it is a particular feature of my invention to construct my yarn anchor in such a manner that two simple angle members comprise atone time the hub referred to, the means for supporting the fingers, and the radial arms carryingthe cutters. More particularly, I provide two oppositely arranged angle members, each one thereof having a portion attached to the collar and extending substantially parallel to the shaft, and a second portion extending radially and constituting one of said radial arms. At the same time, I provide the corolliform fingers of two U-shaped members, each of which has the arms of the U diverging toward the ends thereof and each of which is at ached as by means of a simple rivet or stud to one of the angle members.

For the attainment of the foregoing objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have 0011-.

structed a device embodying the features of my invention and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which 7 Figure 1 is an elevational view, partly in cross-section, showing a yarn anchor of the present character associated with a simplihed knitting machine embodying one set of two thread guides;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 omitting all parts unessential to a diagrammatic representation of the operation of my de vice;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a further step in the course of knitting and the operation of my device at such time; and

Figure at is an enlarged perspective View of the yarn anchor itself.

Referring to Figure 1, I have shown a knitting machine wherein a vertically arranged shaft 10 has a supporting structure 11 mounted thereon. The latter usually carries four spaced sets of thread guides, but in the illustrated embodiment, I have shown a single set designatedgenerally by the reference numeral 12. The unit 12 is carried by the supwhich I have illustrated, I have provided two thread guides 16 and 17. Each of these guides is pivoted adjacent to its upper end so as to be removable from the operative position occupied by the guide 17 into the inoperative position occupied by the guide 16. The guide 16 feeds the thread 18 from the bobbin 14 to the upper peripheral edge of the tubular fabric 19 being knitted; and the guide 17 feeds the thread 20, of a different color from the thread 18, from the bobbin 13 to said peripheral upper edge. In Figure 1, the guide 17 is positioned so that when the unit 12 rotates, the thread 20 will be incorporated into the knitted fabric, the guide 16 being in a position which renders it temporarily inoperative. The mechanism for rendering one or the other of the guides 16 and 17 operative or inoperative at predetermined times is designated generally by the reference numeral 21 his mechanism is fixed and does not rotate,

and is operated automatically at predeter mined times to interpose the cam 22, the plunger 23 and other instrumentalities into such position with respect to the unit 12 that at predetermined times, as the unit 12 passes the mechanism 21, one or the other thread guides 16 or 17 is thrown outwardly into the inoperative position occupied by the guide 16, while the'other thread guide is brought inwardly into operative position. The nature of my present invention does not necessitate a detailed description of the mechanism 21 nor of the manner in which it operates at predetermined times upon the rear portion of the unit 12 to effect such predetermined adjustments of the guides 16 and 17.

Arranged substantially along the path traveled by the operative guide are a set of needles (not shown) ,these needles being automatically operated in a successive manner so that as the unit 12 lays one or the other thread 18 or 20 into operative relationship with said needles, the latter engage said thread and incorporate it into the fabric 19. For example, a rotation of the device shown in Figure 1 would cause an incorporation of the thread 20, in a spiral manner, with the tubular fabric 19.

Referring for the moment to Figure l, it will be seen that I have provided a yarn anchor which comprises a collar 21 provided with a set screw 25, the collar 24 being engageable over the end of the shaft 10, as shown in Figure 1, the set screw 25 serving to hold it in position. Extending from opposite sides of the collar 24 are two angle members 26 and 27, each thereof comprising a portion 28 which extends substantially parallel to the shaft to which the collar 2 1- is to be attached, and a portion 29 extending'radi ally with respect to said shaft. At the end of each of the radial arms 29 l have provided means for mounting a cutting instrumentality such as the ordinary razor blade 30. In the illustratedembodiment, I have provided a turned-down portion-31upon the end of the arm 29, and Ihave provided a stud or screw 32 which is adapted to pass through one of the openings in the razor blade 80 for attaching the latter to the portion 31, Obviously, the bladesBO are arranged in planes which are perpendicular to the radii, so that as the yarn anchor rotates after attachment to the shaft 10, the cutting edges 33:01 the blades 30 will operate to sever any thread or tlllbMlSWlilCh may extend across their circular path of travel. Such cutting action will be extremely eiiective', larticularly if the thread or threads encountered are slightly tensioned.

On each one of the arms 29,, adjacent to the portions 28, I have mounted a U-shaped member 3 1-, preferablyof relatively ligl'it and bendable metal. Each member 34': has arms 35 which are bent into outwardly curved and upwardly divergent positions as illustrated, the four fingers thus provided constituting a yarn-engaging hub of extremely efficient character. These fingers are arranged like the corolla of a flower, as will bereadily ob served. J

In operatiornthe device of Figure 4 is attached tothe shaft 10 as shown in Figure 1, the hub portion lyingsubstantially in the plane of the upper peripheryof thetubular fabric 19, and the armsi29 being so arranged as to position the blades slightly within the end'of the tubular fabric 19. The yarn anchor obviously rotates with the shaft 10, and hence with the structure 11, theunit '12, and the bobbins 13 14:, '15, etc.

In Figure 1, the mechanism 21 has just been etl ective to throw out the guide 16 and to draw in the guide 17 In other wordsthe thread 18 has just completed a spiral incorporation with the fabric 19 and it is now contemplated that the differently colored thread 20 will take its place and thereby provide a band or stripe in the fabric. Referring for the moment to the thread. 18 alone, I have shown in Figure 2 row this thread will have engaged itself about the fingers after one complete rotation of the unit 12 and the other parts which rotate with it. It will be noted that the thread extends from the point 36, where it commenced to float, around the fingers 35 and back to the thread guide 16, thence upwardly through said guide to the bobbin 14. The point 36 is below the upper periphery 37 of the fabric 19 for the reason that a spiral layer has been knitted upon this periphery during the rotation referred to. The point 36 has been illustrated at a point considerably below the periphery of the point 37 because the usual machineembodies four units 12, all operating simultaneously at spaced positions of approximately and the'distance between the point 36 and the periphery 37 is therefore equal to the space occupied by four knitted layers.

Although the lower portion ofthe loop'illustrated in Figure 2 may be encountered by the blade 30, nevertheless the probabilities are that'the point 36 isstill not sufficiently lowtohave the blade 30 operateupon this en countered strand. Moreover, this strand is relativelyloose and it will probably ride over the top of the blade 80 even though it beene countered. K

Still referring'to the thread 18, shownin Figure 3 how a second complete rotation of the unit 12 will not only drop the point 36 by a further-distance as illustrated inthis figure, but will also cause the thread 18 to wind itself once morearound the fingers 35. Thiswinding will be elfective to tensionthe thread 18 sufiiciently so that when the blade 30 encounters the lower portion of this loop it will sever the latter. In Figure 3, the lowermost strand 18 is about to be sev-i ered bythe blade 30. It will benoted that this-severance occurs very close to the fabric itself, thereby leaving a small unobjectionable end 38 extending from the fabric at the point where the strand 18 has completed its incorporation as a stripein the fabric. The other portion 39 of the strand 18 about to be cut in Figure 3 will dangle from the hub in an unobjectionable manner; This dangling end will continue to extend around the hub and upwardly through the guide 16 to the bobbin 14;. No more thread will be drawn from the bobbin 14,however, no matter how many rotations are made, since the yarn anchor rotates with the guide 16.

hen the thread 18 is again desired as a color in the fabric, the guide 16 will be drawninwardly into the position occupied by the guide 17 of Figure 1, and the upper portion 18 illustrated in Figure 3 will then occupy the position of the strand 20 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the strand 20 by itself, it will be noted that it extends from the bobbin 13 through the guide 17, thence inwardly to the hub ofthe yarn'anchor, around the latter, and down to a dangling end which was previously produced in the same mannor as the end 39 of Figure 3.

As the unit 12 rotates, the needles will engage'the thread 20 which is laid into cooperation therewith by theirotating guide 17. Afterthe guide has made one complete revolution as shown in Figure 2, the strand 20 will have become sufficiently tensionedto be cut by the knife'30. It is'to be noted that this strand is not theone which corresponds to the lower strand '18 of Figure 3, but the:

I have strand would be insufficient. practice, however, as pointed out hereinafter,

"hciently tensioned to be cut by the knife 30.

If only two thread guides 16 and 1'? were employed as in the illustrated.embodiment, itis quite possible that the tension of this In actual I there are about four thread guides to each of four units similar to the unit 12. Accordingly, the jumble of the loose strands around the lingers 35-has always proven sufficient to tension the strands corresponding to the strand 20 in FigureQ. I H

-As a'result of the foregoingoperations, a minimum of thread is wasted, since only one or at most'two or three windings about the hub are necessary in order to tension the thread sufficiently to be severed by the -rotating knife. The reason why the thread is tensioned sufficiently in such few rotations is that the arms-29 preventthe thread which iswound'around the fingers 35 from slipping ofi the lower endsof such fingers. The divergent arrangement of the-fingers assures the proper; winding of the thread around the hub,-and has a definite tendency to position the threads downwardly, but obviously, it can position them no further than the arms 29. As a result, the loops which would otherwise be formed are promptly severed in an efficient manner at points rela:

'units 12, each of which embodies four or more different thread guides. Accordingly, when my device is employed, the knives 30 are successivelyoperable upon the strand or strands which are successively tensioned sufficiently and positioned properly to be operatively encountered thereby. During the ,manufacture of striped fabrics, there is no pulling upon the fabric at the points where the different colors end and commence, since the loops have been promptly out before any such pulling would become dangerous; and although the hub gradually collects a mass of loose ends, it never amassesenough of them to form an objectionable and possibly dangerous jumble. Nor are any ends dropped by the anchor into the tubularv fabric itself. lVhatever ends there are are closely wound together around the fingers 35 and are retained in such condition until such time as the anchor may be removed and the mass of threads taken therefrom.

a device employing razor blades as the cutting instrumentalities, nevertheless it will be understood that'such a showing has been made merely to explain the efiicient nature of my invention, and I do not mean to limit myself to thev employment of such cutting instrinnentalities, nor do I mean to limit myself in the appended claims to any particular construction of fingers 35 or arms 29, unless the context calls for such an interpretation. Although the construction illustrated and described is therefore merely illustrative of my invention, nevertheless I have found it extremely satisfactory and efiicient both from a manufacturing standpoint and from an eliicientlyoperating standpoint. lVhere the yarn anchor is to be adapted to difierent sized knitting 'machines, I sometimes provide the arms 29 with adjusting means for rendering them extensible. In this 'way, blades 30 may be adjusted at greater or less distances from the shaft 10, depending upon requirements.

In general, it will be obvious that many changes in the details herein described and illustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of my inventionmay be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. It is therefore intended that these details be interpreted as illustrative and-not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is.

1. In a knitting machine, thecombination with a rotating thread guide, a set of knitting needlesarranged along the arcuate path of travelof said guide and adapted to engage said thread to incorporate it'into the fabric being knitted, and means for shifting said guide at predetermined times out of cooperative relationship to said needles so that said thread floats and remains unengaged by said needles during the further rotationof said guide, of a yarn anchor coaxially mounted for rotation with said guide and provided with means for grasping, tensioning, and promptly cutting said unengaged thread at a point relatively close to the point at which it commences to float, said anchor comprising radial arms provided with cutters at their extremities and hence adjacent to the fabric being knitted. V

2. In a knitting machine, the combination with a rotating thread guide, a set of knitting needles arranged along the arcuate path of travel of said guide and adapted to engage said thread to incorporate it into the fabric being knitted, and means for shifting said guide at predetermined times out of cooperative relationship to said needles so that said thread floats and remains unengaged by said needles during the further rotation of said guide, of a yarn anchor ,coaxially mounted for rotation with said guide and provided with means for grasping, tensioning, and promptly cutting said unengaged thread at a point relatively close to the point at which it commences to float, said anchor comprising a set of corolliform fingers arranged adjacent to the axis of rotation and radial arms extending from said fingers and provided with blades at their extremities.

3. In a knitting machine, the combination with a rotating thread guide, a set of knitting needles arranged along the arcuate path of travel of said guide and adapted to engage said thread to incorporate it into the fabric being knitted, and means for shifting said guide at predetermined times out of cooperative relationship to said needles so that said thread floats and remains unengaged by said needles during the further rotation of said guide, of a yarn anchor coaxially mounted for rotation with said guide and provided with means for grasping, tensioning, and promptly cutting said unengaged thread at a point relatively close to the point at which it commences to float, said anchor comprising radial arms provided with cutters at their extremities and hence adjacent to the fabric being knitted, and means for adjusting the positions of said cutters on said arms.

4. For association with the end of a rotating knitting machine shaft of the character described, a yarn anchor comprising a hub, means for attaching the hub to said shaft end, corolliform fingers carried by said hub, radial arms extending from the converged ends of said fingers, and cutters carried on the ends of said arms.

5. For association with the end of a rotating knitting machine shaft of the character described, a yarn anchor comprising a hub, means for attaching the hub to said shaft end, corolliform fingers carried by said hub, radial arms extending from the converged ends of said fingers, and cutters carried on the ends of said arms; said hub including a collar engageable over said shaft end, and said hub and arms including a pair of angle members each of which has one portion attached to said collar and a second portion constituting one of said arms.

6. For association with the end of a rotating knitting machine shaft of the character described, a yarn anchor comprising a hub, means for attaching the hub to said shaft end, corolliform fingers carried by said hub, radial arms extending from the converged ends of said fingers, and cutters carried on the ends of said arms; said hub including a collar engageable over said shaft end, said arms including a pair of angle members carried by said collar, each of said members having a portion extending substantially parallel to the shaft, and said fingers including a pair of U-shaped members carried by said angle members respectively adjacent to the parallel portions thereof.

7. For association with the end of a knitting machine shaft of the character described, a yarn anchor comprising a hub, means for attaching the hub to said shaft end, radial arms extending from said hub, cutters at the ends of said arms, and corolliform fingers carried by said hub adjacent to the axis thereof, said fingers including a pair of U-shaped members carried by two of said arms respectively, the arms of each of said U-shaped members diverging toward the ends thereof.

8. A yarn anchor of the character described comprising a hub, a pair of arms extending radially from said hub, knives mounted on the ends of said arms, and a set of corolliform fingers attached to the hub adjacent to the axis thereof.

9. A yarn anchor of the character described comprising a hub, a pair of arms extending radially from said hub, knives mounted on the ends of said arms, and a set of corolliform fingers attached to the hub adjacent to the axis thereof, said fingers including a pair of U-shaped members medially attached to said arms and having the legs of said Us divergently shaped.

10. As a new article of manufacture, a yarn anchor of the character described, comprising a collar, a pair of angle members attached thereto, each of said members comprising a portion substantially parallel to the axis of said collar and a portion extending radially therefrom, and means at the ends of said radial portions for accommodating cutters.

11. As a new article of manufacture, a yarn anchor of the character described, comprising a collar, a pair of angle members attached thereto, each of said members comprising a portion substantially parallel to the axis of said collar and a portion extending radially therefrom, means at the ends of said radial portions for accommodating cutters, and a pair of U-shaped finger members carried by said angle members respectively adjacent to said parallel portions.

In witness whereof, I have signed this specification this 6 day of April, 1928.

IRWIN ROTTENBERG. 

